Jordynne Grace remains atop the TNA Knockouts Division. Stephanie Vaquer unseats the long-reigning Giulia. Gin Sevani chats with WrestleZone, and more. Let’s break it down in this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!
Jordynne Grace Retains Knockouts Championship At TNA Sacrifice
Two weeks after hosting No Surrender in Louisiana, TNA Wrestling headed up north for their 2024 Sacrifice event, which emanated from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The show’s main card included eight matches, two of which featured competitors from the Knockouts division.
In the co-main event of the evening, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace was tasked with defending her title against not one, but two challengers. Leading up to the show, TNA organized a number one contenders match between recent signee Xia Brookside and former Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz. However, when this collision resulted in a double count-out, Grace offered to defend her title against both competitors at TNA Sacrifice.
Both Steelz and Brookside put forth a valiant, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the strength and resiliency of Grace. The finish of the title match saw Grace lay out Steelz with a clothesline before delivering a Juggernaut Driver to Brookside to clutch the pinfall. With this victory, Grace’s third reign will soon surpass 60 days, as she previously won the title from Trinity at TNA Hard To Kill.
New KO Tag Champs Crowned
Elsewhere on the card, MK Ultra (Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly) defended the Knockouts Tag Team Championships against the recently formed team of Dani Luna and Jody Threat.
While their partnership is newer, Luna and Threat (together known as Spitfire) proved to be just that — legitimate threats. After recovering from a pre-match attack, Threat unleashed a series of corner clotheslines on Slamovich to shift the momentum in the favor of her team. The momentum would ultimately stay on course as Threat later surprised Killer Kelly with a roll-up to secure the win.
Threat’s pin on Kelly signifies the beginning of Spitfire’s Knockouts Tag Team Championship reign. Meanwhile, MK Ultra ends their second reign after claiming the titles (again) only two weeks ago.
A recap of the tag team title match can be read below, courtesy of WrestleZone’s live coverage page:
TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: MK Ultra (c) vs. Spitfire
MK Ultra ambushes Jody Threat and Dani Luna during their entrance. At ringside, Spitfire gets choked out with chains. Threat and Masha finally start the bout hot as Threat tries to fight back but eats a superkick. Threat fights back with corner clotheslines. Masha plants her with a piledriver and then tags Kelly. Dani recovers and pulls Kelly’s leg. Threat then rolls Kelly up for the surprise win.
Stephanie Vaquer Unseats Giulia
Giulia‘s reign as NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion comes to an end at the hands of Stephanie Vaquer.
On March 10, STARDOM hosted the second night of their Cinderella Tournament event with a headlining match between NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer. This 11-minute match included an enthralling sequence of back-and-forth action, but in the end, it was Vaquer who emerged victorious. The closing moment saw Vaquer nail Giulia with a DDT before rolling her up for a three-count pinfall.
With this win, Vaquer begins her first reign as NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion, while simultaneously holding the CMLL World Women’s Championship and CMLL World Women’s Tag Team Championship (with Zeuxis). For Giulia, STARDOM’s Cinderella Tournament marked the end of her 249-day reign. The STARDOM standout previously defeated Willow Nightingale to win the title in July 2023.
In her run, Giulia successfully defended the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship a total of nine times. Giulia’s December 29 title defense against Megan Bayne was honored as the Best Match of the Year in STARDOM’s 2023 year-end awards.
Giulia’s loss comes on the heels of reports that she is leaving STARDOM at the end of this month.
RELATED: Giulia Still Wants To Face Mercedes Moné; Moné Responds
Interviews
“The Social Hippie” Gin Sevani spoke with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay about her fascination with mortuary science, her experiences seeing and meeting the band System of a Down, developing her character in the wrestling space, taking inspiration from Chyna, and more.
TNA Knockout Xia Brookside chatted with WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard about signing with TNA, how she got Simple Plan / State Champs’ “Where I Belong” as her TNA theme, touring Japan, challenging Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship at TNA Sacrifice, and more.
WWE Hall of Famer Torrie Wilson appeared on Threads with McKenzie Mitchell to discuss her all-time favorite wrestling look, inspirations behind her ring gear, being part of the first-ever lingerie match, her WWE Hall of Fame induction dress, and more.
MLW’s Zayda Steel appeared on Astrid Asks to talk about her transition into professional wrestling, taking on the moniker of “The Real Deal,” serving as an extra for WWE, the MLW Women’s Featherweight Division, and more.
WWE Raw star Maxxine Dupri sat down with Chris Van Vliet to talk about her journey to becoming a WWE Superstar, getting signed after her tryout in Las Vegas, being a cheerleader for the LA Rams and Phoenix Suns, learning from LA Knight, teaming up with Chad Gable and Otis in Alpha Academy, and more.
